As a trend watcher in the IT space, I have noticed a consistent drumbeat over the last few years. CIOs and their interest in analytics and business intelligence have been consistent if not increasing. This makes perfect sense as companies realize they need to leverage both internal and external data sources to better compete in […]

Latest Articles

In consumer and B2B market research circles we are often asked to assess market awareness and/or familiarity with brands, products and spokespeople or causes. These two related, but separate constructs, represent the first steps on the pathway from prospect to customer. Awareness should be measured in two ways – unaided and aided. Unaided awareness is […]

Census regions are probably the last thing you think about when procuring Hispanic sample. Language, acculturation, and country of origin are likely at the top of your list. However, census regions are linked to all of the above. The Hispanic population distribution in the U.S. is considerably different than the rest of the population. For […]

In a prior post I highlighted an interesting statistic – for any given project market researchers can now expect up to 40% response on smartphones. This percentage will continue to increase. The question then becomes one of what do we know about mobile responders and can this be applied to our sampling plans? First and […]

At the recent MRA Corporate Researchers Conference the training organization Research Rockstar presented a course on designing device agnostic surveys. The trend is clear that more and more surveys are being taken on smartphones and tablets. Desktop computers still account for the majority of responses, but for any given project market researchers can now expect […]

Recently when giving my desk a much needed cleaning I came across an article by Jerry Thomas with the firm Decision Analyst. His whitepaper focused on the use of the top two box score as a measure for conveying scores to survey scales. The top box score is the sum of percentages for the top […]

“How To” Posts

This post might be a little outdated for some of you, but I know that there are many small marketing research agencies out there that are still maintaining their client and prospect lists in Excel. I know because I’ve been there, I’ve lived it, and I’ve talked to some of you who are still living […]

We’re counting down our Top 10 blog posts of 2013. Coming in at #4 is this post originally published July 31. Over the last couple years, I’ve been looking at Twitter’s potential in survey research. Why Twitter? Because it’s vast, it’s fast, and it’s cheap. Recently, at the 2013 FedCASIC Workshops, I presented ten things survey […]

Last week I was writing a questionnaire for a client using their survey software account, and I was chagrined to discover that it lacked the ability to randomize the display of items in a choice list. This is a common capability of all modern survey software applications, including QuestionPro, Survey Analytics, Google Consumer Surveys, and […]

Come On In, Stranger! Ever wonder what type of person allows market researchers into their home to observe and study them? Well, surprise to me, they’re normal people! I was convinced only “whack-a-dos” would open up their doors to us. In short, I was proven wrong. With each new research methodology I am exposed to, […]

On March 19, 2015, the esteemed Annie Pettit of Peanut Labs led us through a brief but insightful presentation on data quality lessons from the survey design perspective. As researchers who are actively engaged in survey implementation, we want to ensure that the responses we are collecting are as accurate as possible. This requires a […]

We tend to measure customer satisfaction after the customer experience has already happened. But that isn’t when the opinion about the experience is really created. Customer experiences are actually created long before your customer ever reaches your doorstep. They often start with impressions and perceptions created when your potential customer interacts with friends and colleagues […]

Open innovation is the practice of collecting data from a wide audience in order to solve problems or evolve. And this practice is being utilized in every industry, from government to nonprofits to enterprise-level companies to universities, with numerous different end goals and objectives. Marketers are using it for research, product managers are using it […]

We’re counting down our Top 10 blog posts of 2013. Coming in at #8 is this webinar recap originally published August 8. As part of the CASRO webinar series, Inna Burdein, Ph.D., director of panel analytics with the NPD Group, discussed her research into survey length and effort. The session moderator – John Bremer, the […]

Springtime is here! What better time to dust off your tools, including a nifty but underutilized method called TURF Analysis? No, I’m not talking about something in your yard or garden. I’m talking about the market research analytical technique called TURF Analysis. TURF is an acronym which stands for “Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency.” TURF […]

After you’ve been blogging for a few months, it’s a good idea to take a step back, examine what’s worked, and refine your blogging strategy. Especially if you have only recently begun blogging, it’s important to frequently review your strategy and successes, to make sure that you are progressing toward your goals. This can be […]

In the quickly evolving world of survey rewards, staying on top of changes can be challenging. Here are six tips to optimize your rewards budget and maximize your response rate: Digital makes a difference – Comfort with digital rewards is at an all-time high. People routinely receive e-gift cards from loyalty programs, wellness challenges and survey […]